Xabi Alonso is many things, but a one-trick pony is not one of them. When he arrives at Real Madrid, the new boss could ditch his trademark 3-at-the-back to begin.
Real Madrid fans are buzzing for next season, and understandably so. For the first time in a long while, there is a renewed sense of hope about the future, and we mean that as no disrespect to Carlo Ancelotti, who has more than cemented himself in club folklore.
Next campaign, Xabi Alonso will be at the helm, and it's an exciting time for everybody involved with Real Madrid. He will be a new face, bringing a fresh approach. However, despite popular belief, he might not implement his three-at-the-back system right away.
Xabi Alonso stuns Real Madrid fans with tactical U-turn in big decision
At Bayer Levekusen, Xabi Alonso was known for his fluid system, consisting of three defenders and stacking the midfield. According to Marca, this won't be his immediate approach at Real Madrid and instead, he leans more towards a 4-3-3 approach.
Makes complete sense. While it's understandable that fans would get excited about a new formation, Xabi Alonso can only work with what he's got. The centre-back position plagued Real Madrid the most, so to expect Xabi Alonso to work with that AND THEN SOME, was completely unrealistic. Can't blame us for getting excited, though.
Look, three centre-backs is probably the preferred approach going forward. However, Xabi Alonso is not Superman, and he can't apply this straight away. Prudence is the right approach here, and shows that Alonso isn't a 'my way or the highway' type of manager.
Real Madrid recently signed Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth, a transfer that Xabi Alonso personally pushed for. The young centre-back was signed for a reason and that will ultimately be to play in a back three but right now, he'll probably partner Raul Asencio.
Long-term, Real Madrid fans can get excited to return to the early 2000s by brick-walling their defence with three defenders and operating with two multi-faceted full-backs (which they already have in Trent Alexander-Arnold and potentially Alvaro Carreras).
Make no mistake about it, Real Madrid won't be losing a defender when they go to 3-at-the-back. It'll be three defenders in possession, and five defenders out of possession, with a lot of emphasis on the full-backs helping out where needed.
For now, though, Real Madrid fans shouldn't expect immediate changes to the formation.